Scriptures tell us why Jesus came

December 01, 2013

Advent is here again.

For the next few weeks, we'll be thinking about the coming of Jesus into our world.

To some, this season will simply be the sentimental, romanticized celebration of a cute, cuddly baby's birth. To others, this occasion will mark the anniversary of the arrival of a great social revolutionary who grew up to battle injustice and inequality in society. Many will view this religious festival as a remembering of the appearance centuries ago of a good moral teacher who offered wise advice about how to live but then unfortunately fell victim to a tragic martyr's death. There is this wide diversity about what this nativity actually meant for humanity.

It seems to me that the general culture makes at least three mistakes when it comes to the birth and significance of Jesus.

For one thing, they get so wrapped up in the narratives in Matthew 1 and Luke 2 about Christ's entrance into the world and ignore what the rest of scripture says about him and his purposes. For another thing, they fail to take into account that Christ had two natures, human and divine. And then they forget that the Bible teaches about two different comings of Jesus, the first one being in Bethlehem a long time ago and the second one still future. Hebrews 9:28 suggests that the two comings have different objectives.

Maybe it would be a good idea to let Jesus tell us in his own words just why he came.

There are several verses in the New Testament where he clearly spells out the reasons for his coming. Luke 19:10, Mark 10:45 and John 10:10 are among the texts that offer his rationale for showing up on our planet. Interestingly, all three sentences use the word "came," indicating not just a natural birth but an arrival from somewhere else. This speaks of the preexistence of Jesus in the Trinity, which in turn speaks of his deity. He was more than just an ordinary infant. He was God, taking on human flesh! That perspective is echoed in verses by other New Testament writers, such as John 1:1 and John 1:14 and Philippians 2:6-11 and Colossians 2:9 and Hebrews 2:9-14. Jesus was not simply a decent, caring man who performed kind deeds and uttered helpful sayings. He was God among us!

If you take the Luke 19:10 reference seriously, you begin to understand that Jesus came to our world on a mission to seek people alienated and separated from God by their sin. God originally made people in his image to know him and love him and to fulfill grand purposes on this earth for his glory. People chose to rebel and go their own way and thus became lost and empty and searching. Christ came to recover them. All of his miracles, like feeding hungry people and calming storms and healing sick persons and raising the dead were like tantalizing pictures he painted to show us what life will be like in a perfected world under his kingship for those who follow him.

The Mark 10:45 text expands our understanding of how Jesus would accomplish his mission. He came in humility and service. We need that example in our competitive, materialistic, dog-eat-dog, looking-out-for-number-one kind of culture. This verse is a needed corrective even in our churches where the prosperity gospel and the name-it-and-claim-it theology and the Christian celebrity cult are all making inroads. But don't miss the key idea here. Jesus talks about giving his life as a ransom for many. It's obvious that he knew he came to die. It's pretty clear that he was actually sent to die. He would not die as a criminal or as a martyr for some social cause. He would voluntarily, vicariously lay his life down. His death on behalf of sinners would pay their sin debt and pave the way for their reconciliation with a holy God who hates sin but yet loves sinners. That's the real good news that the angel told Joseph about in Matthew 1:21. That's the real gospel that the angelic chorus heralded in Luke 2:13-14. That offering of himself as a representative and substitute for sinners will then ultimately lead to a total cosmic restoration, affecting even nature itself. That awaits the second coming, when Jesus will come in triumph and victory and set all that is wrong in this world right. Even the Old Testament prophets, who could not always clearly distinguish the effects of the two separate comings, wrote of those things in places like Isaiah 11:1-9.

In the meantime, the purpose statement of Jesus in John 10:10 is being fulfilled now in the hearts of believers. He offers peace and soul satisfaction and freedom from guilt, as well as joy and hope. It's not boring to be a Christian! Eternal life is not just something a child of God gets in the future, either. It's a whole new quality of living that begins in the present. The Apostle Paul's words in Philippians 1:21 show that he was experiencing the reality of that despite the hardships of his life and ministry. The Christian journey is anything but dry and dull.

Enjoy the manger scenes and carols about shepherds and wise men this season. Delight in the Christmas plays about a little child born in austere circumstances. But look beyond all that and understand that the larger story involves not only a cradle, but a cross, and one day, a crown. Yes, he is like a gentle lamb but eventually will be seen as a mighty lion. His work was not just in changing the external, but the internal, too, as he transforms hearts. Inner change works its way out to gradually change social structures and inequities. So the simple nativity story turns out to be profound and is much more than a cozy, fireside tale. It is of epic proportions!

The Rev. Tommy Davidson is pastor of Riverside Baptist Church in Newport News. He can be reached by e-mail at Graceway51@aol.com.